Chapter 7
After arguing with Chu Xianyue, Xie Wen immediately went to show off in front of Chi Yufei. Chu Xianyue, realizing his earlier lapse in composure, was about to regain his composure before Xie Wen noticed, but Xie Wen turned and left. Chu Xianyue opened his mouth, but half a sentence stuck in his throat, unable to come up or down. Tsk.
Xie Wen, with his hands behind his back, walked up to Chi Yufei and swaggered around, asking, "Junior Sister, how are you feeling?"
Chi Yufei was soaking wet, her hair clinging to her cheeks, raindrops dripping from her chin. Her eyes blazed with murderous intent towards Xie Wen, and the sword in her hand trembled violently. Xie Wen knew when to stop, not daring to provoke her any further, fearing that Chi Yufei might anger herself to death.
Chi Yufei never imagined that after practicing for so long, she would still be easily defeated by Xie Wen. She was incredibly resentful! Feeling utterly humiliated, she gave up the chance to continue the competition and left, carefully escorted by her followers.
On the other side of the lake, a new round of competition began, with the excitement rising higher and higher, and no one paid any attention to Xie Wen and the others anymore.
Xie Wen strolled leisurely, only daring to show her true colors when no one was watching. She bent over, one hand on her knee, the other clutching her chest tightly. "Damn, that hurts!" She was badly shaken by Chi Yufei's attack; for a moment, Xie Wen felt like her internal organs were about to burst. But she had to pretend. What would happen if Chi Yufei found out? Xie Wen would rather suffer eight hundred injuries herself than let Chi Yufei know she was incapable.
Xie Wen took a deep breath, calmed down for a while, straightened up, and looked up to see Chu Xianyue staring at him with narrow eyes, "Weren't you just jumping around quite energetically?"
Xie Wen really wanted to give him a good whack, to scare him half to death. Xie Wen wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, "It's nothing."
"Oh," Chu Xianyue said calmly, turning to leave.
Xie Wen: "Sigh, wait a minute."
Chu Xianyue turned around, thinking she couldn't bear it and was about to beg him to heal her wounds, but Xie Wen blinked her clear eyes and said very seriously, "Can't we keep this a secret?"
Chu Xianyue: "..."
He's so obsessed with saving face; this is the first time I've met someone even more stubbornly pretentious than him.
Chu Xianyue didn't want to talk to her.
Xie Wen followed eagerly, "Master, what do you mean? Are you going to keep quiet or not?"
Chu Xianyue still ignored Xie Wen. Xie Wen glared at Chu Xianyue for a second from behind. He was petty and couldn't stand to see Xie Wen doing well. He would definitely tell others and then laugh at Xie Wen behind her back with his fellow disciples.
As they walked, Chu Xianyue suddenly turned around, tossed a small jade bottle to Xie Wen, who opened it and sniffed it. "What's this?"
Chu Xianyue said, "Take it or leave it."
He was already annoyed enough. Xie Wen must be missing a screw in his head.
Xie Wen cursed him in his heart: What's with the sour face?
She tentatively poured a pill into her palm and swallowed it. Instantly, she felt refreshed, the pain in her chest disappeared, and her body was filled with spiritual energy!
Xie Wen asked Chu Xianyue, "The next trial is the third stage, right? Where will we take the competition?"
Seeing the blood-red sun hanging in the sky, one in the sky and one in the center of the lake, Chu Xianyue turned his head in the twilight, his face flushed slightly, his usual coldness lessened, and for a moment he seemed gentle.
Xie Wen shook his head, wondering if he had been knocked senseless, which was why he found Xie Wen's words so gentle.
As the sun set in a blood-red twilight, a gust of evening wind swept across the lake, creating a surging, crimson expanse.
The disciples' long, pale shadows moved together towards the edge of Little Mirror Lake. Chu Xianyue slapped Xie Wen on the head, "Everyone else has left, and you're the only one staying to spend the night?"
It is not advisable to linger at Little Mirror Lake at night. This magical place has been said to have been teeming with strange creatures from the lakebed. Some disciples have disappeared at night, while others who survived have gone mad, constantly shouting that there are monsters at the bottom of the lake.
At the same time, Little Mirror Lake has a unique structure, with miasma emanating from its bottom. The illusion at the bottom of Little Mirror Lake is a manifestation of this miasma. At night, the miasma rises to the surface of the lake, causing people to lose their senses. If they do not receive timely rescue, they will either never wake up or lose their minds and become insane.
Upon hearing Chu Xianyue's words, Xie Wen felt a chill run down his spine.
Xie Wen glanced back at the small Mirror Lake under the setting sun; it was blood red and deep black. It looked as if some monster might leap from the bottom of the lake at any moment.
The disciples had all vanished. A strange sound lingered faintly behind them. "Squeak, squeak," like teeth grinding against bones.
Xie Wen tore off a cooling talisman and a noise talisman from his back and slapped them at Chu Xianyue. "Chu Xianyue, how childish are you?"
Xie Wen paused for a moment. She hadn't seen wrong, had she? Chu Xianyue had just smiled? A faint smile spread across his cold face, lingering for only a fleeting instant, like a wisp of mist on the twilight horizon that vanished in the blink of an eye.
But what's the use of a pretty smile if it's just a mockery of her?
Chu Xianyue's voice was as cold as ever, "Is it any of your business to call me by my name?"
"Ah, it's Master." Xie Wen rolled his eyes.
For some reason, Xie Wen felt that Chu Xianyue was in a good mood today. Taking advantage of this, she acted a little more recklessly.
Chu Xianyue said, "However, what I just said wasn't meant to scare you. Otherwise, if that place were really that good, why would the sect stipulate that it can only be entered during the month?"
Xie Wen felt that Chu Xianyue's words made some sense. She also felt that this place was a bit eerie; during the fight on the lake earlier, that particular move she had suddenly used had been triggered. There was some external pressure exerted on it, but Xie Wen didn't know what it was. She asked, "So, do we have to come here again for the trial tomorrow?"
Chu Xianyue said, "Yes, continue. Tomorrow is the main event. Today is just a test. You've only touched the edge of Little Mirror Lake. Don't be so eager to get ahead of yourselves."
Xie Wen said "Oh," and then added, "Sorry, I laugh when I'm happy and cry when I'm disappointed. That's just the kind of person I am; I can't hold it in."
"I can tell you can't hold it in at all. You're so stubborn and pretending to be something you're not."
Xie Wen: "..."
In the blink of an eye, they arrived at the foot of the Flying Cherry Blossom Pavilion. Ahead lay the barrier, and not far away, a small thatched hut built against the mountain stood forlornly in the night, appearing utterly desolate. Xie Wen couldn't believe that this was actually the residence of the first disciple of the First Immortal Venerable of the First Sword Sect!
Xie Wen stopped Chu Xianyue, "Could you please provide me with a better place to stay next time? I am your disciple, after all. If people find out that I'm staying in such a shabby place, they'll think our sect is going to go bankrupt."
Chu Xianyue narrowed his eyes and said, "Isn't this what you asked for? You didn't want the rooms assigned to the disciples, and insisted on building this thatched hut instead."
Xie Wen slapped herself, taking back what she had just said. Tsk, did the original owner of this body have some kind of peculiar, stingy quirk?
Actually, the original owner's initial idea was very simple: to live here because it was close to Chu Xianyue's residence. But people are always greedy, and later she became dissatisfied with that and thought how wonderful it would be if she could live in her master's Feiying Pavilion.
So the house grew smaller and smaller, more and more dilapidated, and she thought that one day Chu Xianyue would see it and feel sorry for her. Maybe one day he would have a change of heart and say to her, "If you don't mind, you can move into Feiying Pavilion."
Xie Wen scoffed, "That's probably just the original owner's fantasy after he was dizzy from hunger while digging for wild vegetables."
He should just go back to his shabby little house. When he has time, Xie Wen will definitely apply to live in the disciples' dormitory.
In the evening, Xie Wen stood in the courtyard, summoning her fragrant fan. With a flick of her wrist, she slowly drew her sword, testing its feel. The sword's aura caused the grass and trees in the courtyard to tremble and fall. Xie Wen sheathed her sword; many sword techniques and incantations seemed to be ingrained in her mind, flowing naturally from her memory.
She tried circulating her energy and chanting incantations again, and to her surprise, she could feel the surging spiritual power within her body, surging as if it were a tangible force, and she could control it freely!
The next day, all the disciples who had advanced the previous day gathered at Little Mirror Lake early in the morning.
When Xie Wen arrived, all the disciples turned their attention to her. She had been the center of attention yesterday, and today she was the most likely to win the prize, so everyone couldn't help but pay more attention to her.
Xie Wen was extremely pleased.
However, before Xie Wen could even gloat, a dark figure suddenly flew in from the horizon. The newcomer swept across the crimson dawn, riding a gleaming sword suspended beneath the rising sun. His black robes fluttered in the wind, and his figure was outlined by the light as extremely majestic and righteous.
The person landed slowly, one foot lightly touching the lake's surface, standing in the center. The dark figure reflected on the icy blue lake surface was only briefly glanced at, then ruffled by the wind.
The disciples all turned to Yun Yan, their eyes widening in surprise. They whispered amongst themselves, "Why is Senior Brother Yun Yan back?" "Yeah, when did he come back? Wasn't he always saying he was training outside the mountains?"...
Xie Wen stood there swaying back and forth, holding a fan, idly tapping her palm with the fan. She wasn't really curious about Yun Yan; she just remembered the grudge of him stealing her thunder.
Without noticing, Xie Wen glanced up and met Yun Yan's piercing, wolf-like eyes, which stared at her intently for about ten seconds.
That look was definitely not friendly.
Xie Wen understood: This guy's here to cause trouble!
She recalled the description of Yun Yan in the original work. It said that Xie Wen's junior brother, Yun Yan, was competitive by nature. Because he couldn't stand that Xie Wen, who was from the same sect, was stronger than him in overall cultivation, he secretly watched Xie Wen's every move every day and would try to compete with Xie Wen whenever he had the chance.
Xie Wen had a bad feeling. A bronze-colored longsword came whistling through the air, and Xie Wen dodged to the side. The bronze sword barely grazed a strand of hair at Xie Wen's temple. The strand of hair was shaken away by the sword's energy and floated slowly behind Xie Wen.
Chu Xianyue raised his hand, and that strand of black hair fell into his palm. On the icy blue Mirror Lake, two figures, one in blue and one in black, faced each other with swords drawn. The lake water was stirred up and splashed everywhere. Xie Wen's hair was mostly wet, sticking to her fair face, and a few drops of water dripped down her rosy lips.
She carried Yao Fang, Yun Yan held the Ancient Dragon Blade, and Xie Wen stood to the side, wiping the lake water from his face. "Are you sick? What did I do to you? You tried to kill me right away."
Yun Yan's jet-black hair clung to his dark eyebrows and eyes. He smiled faintly and said coldly, "Senior Sister, long time no see. It's been so long since we had a competition. How come you've regressed?"
He didn't give Xie Wen a chance to reply, leaping forward and slashing at Xie Wen with a large, heavy, blunt blade. If he used all his strength, he could probably split half a small mountain in half with one strike. Xie Wen's sword, on the other hand, was a slender, flexible soft sword, completely unable to withstand the attack head-on. Xie Wen was extremely worried that his Yao Fang would be cut in half by this big, dumb guy who only knew brute force.
Xie Wen kept dodging, saying, "I admit defeat, I admit defeat, okay? Stop."
Yun Yan seemed not to hear. He had finally gotten a chance to defeat Xie Wen, so how could he let it slip by? Of course, he had to beat Xie Wen down and "avenge his shame" in front of his master and all his disciples.
Xie Wen glanced at Chu Xianyue, who was standing calmly to the side.
Xie Wen looked at her for help.
Chu and Yue remained unmoved.
Xie Wen cursed the master and disciple in his heart, calling them a crazy junior brother and a worthless master. "Pah!"
Chu Xianyue was unaware that Xie Wen had given him a severe dressing-down; he only noticed that Xie Wen's strength had clearly improved significantly compared to yesterday. And yet, only a day had passed.
Now, forced to spar with Yun Yan, Xie Wen probably didn't even realize that much of her potential had been unleashed, whether it was her sword speed, the proficiency of her swordsmanship, or the coordination between herself and her sword. Her rapid progress left Chu Xianyue slightly speechless.
However, the next moment, Chu Xianyue snorted coldly, realizing that even with further improvement, he still hadn't reached the original level.
Yun Yan pressed closer and closer, and the two fought their way from the center of Little Mirror Lake to its shore. The disciples nearby had long since scattered to the side, fearing that they would be implicated and suffer undeserved disaster.
It seemed that Yun Yan was advancing while Xie Wen was retreating, but Xie Wen vaguely felt that she was gradually becoming less strained than when she was initially avoiding him, and it was as if she was leading Yun Yan by the hand.
Xie Wen stood on the shore. When Yun Yan's broadsword slashed at her again, Xie Wen dodged backward as before. But this time, she couldn't get up after bending over! As soon as her body approached the water of the small Mirror Lake on the shore, a force pulled her downward, as if a stone was tied around her waist. Her head began to spin, the world before her eyes began to swirl, and then she knew nothing more.
Like Xie Wen, Yun Yan was also pulled towards the bottom of the lake by a strange force. He thought to himself, "Oh no!" He had been so engrossed in the fight that he had forgotten that the lake on the shore of Little Mirror Lake was the entrance to the illusion!
The disciples watched in disbelief as this unfolded. The trial hadn't even officially begun yet! How had they entered the illusion ahead of schedule?
Chu Xianyue teleported to Yun Yan's side, about to pull Yun Yan out, but then he thought, Yun Yan could be pulled back, but Xie Wen couldn't. It would be better to start the trial directly.
Immediately, the figure in cyan leaned forward and disappeared into the icy blue lake. Three people were thrown into the semi-transparent, icy blue lake, yet upon closer inspection, not a single ripple appeared; it was like a mirror. No wonder it's called Little Mirror Lake.
The disciples were excited at the sight; this was going to be interesting. In previous trials, when Yun Yan was around, he and Xie Wen were evenly matched, with neither side able to gain the upper hand.
If Senior Brother Yunyan can dampen Xie Wen's arrogance, the other disciples will feel more at ease.
The trial began ahead of schedule, and they stood on the shore, one after another, pouring themselves into the lake. The row of figures on the lake shore was instantly swallowed by the lake.
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